The Rumour Mill
by TharaCorleone
Summary: There's a rumour floating around Uppers HQ involving Lady, Borgia's Palace and an organised charity boxing match...


It was no joke to say that the Uppers HQ had numerous, numerous rooms, one of which appeared to be some kind of lounge room and one of the few rooms whose walls weren't covered in green. Almost hidden amongst the white in her similarly-coloured denim jacket and jeans was Lady, who appeared to be reading what looked like a gossip magazine.

"Never happened...not true...ok, that's just not right," She muttered to herself, not seeming too happy at what she read; the cover reading "Lady: is she a real blonde or even a woman?", they were the types of rumours that had never seemed to get past the occasional, obscure internet forum.

"To think they're picking on me because of _him_. People really need to learn to open their minds."

Wondering why she was still reading the nonsense, she closed the magazine and gently tossed it onto the long, coffee table infront of her.

"What's wrong, Lady? Someone actually tell the truth about you?"

"Where did you come from?" Lady asked, surprised by Sydney's appearance as she'd been convinced she was the only one in the lounge. "Also, I wouldn't be so quick to call me, I found you in there too."

"Gimmie!"

Forgetting everything else, she dashed over to the magazine and snatched it out of Lady's hands. "Hey! This is an article on a chimp giving birth."

"I didn't say anything," the blonde calmly protested, raising both hands in gesture. "You're the one who's making that presumption."

"Ok, then." She scoffed in response. "Then where is the article?"

"Do I look like a tracker dog to you?" Lady then asked. "Actually, don't answer that. I gotta make a phonecall."

Leaving the lounge, she knew perfectly well that she had no phone call to make whatsoever, but it would have been a lot better for everyone if she left Sydney's presence sooner rather than later; whilst Lady was known for her calm demeanour, the other female could make a saint ratty. But now she was walking down the corridor and not quite sure where to take herself.

"Those bastards! I'll kill them!"

Sydney's rage-filled screams filled the halls as she remained in the room to read the article, and had caught the attention of another clan member who had made his way onto the hall.

"Sydney is in one of her moods again, it seems," Dorian chuckled as he noticed Lady walking down said hall.

"Well she's only herself to blame," the blonde responded, rather gently yet matter-of-factly.

"So who did she make a sex tape with this time?"

"I wouldn't know," Lady began, shaking her head. "I saw her name in the heading and thought it best not to get into the details."

"I guess this means I'll be having to do some PR nonsense to make sure this doesn't wreck what's left of her career," he responded, shaking his head before his expression took on that of a man who had remembered something. "That reminds me, Prince Jr. came over this morning to ask you something."

"I'm surprised you'd jump to her defence, if I'm honest," She said, her tone curious before turning slightly wary. "And really? What did he want? Though if I think it's what I think it is, I do wish his friends stopped sending his messages for him."

"It may not seem like it, but we do at least try to watch out for each other. Anyway, he wanted to ask if you'd like to be in a celebrity boxing tournament at the end of the month."

The moment the words left his mouth, Lady's immediate response was a gentle sigh. It was clear it wasn't a first-time thing and that she couldn't get too annoyed- Dorian was only the messenger.

"He asked me this last month. I turned him down then and I'll have to do so again."

"He says it's for charity, but you know how he is. And that's not counting how much he's going to pocket."

"If you ask me, he's the kind of guy who'd sell his sister if he had one."

"From what I know, there is a secret charity the Montana run: a retirement fund for old mobsters. My uncle was friends with one of guys on it."

"My answer's still no," Lady said, shaking her head once again. "There are better ways to raise funds for those who need it then allowing myself to be abused by violence."

"I was kind of hoping you'd say yes given how excited Sydney was about it. The girl hasn't shut up about it all day," Dorian sighed, his tone sounding more annoyed at the whole situation rather than cheerful at Lady's expense.

"She gets excited when I break a nail," the blonde began, sounding a little humiliated before her tone suddenly turned surprisingly hostile. "And I'm sorry, I didn't realise Mr Brown got his kicks from fellow clan members' pain. Or is this because it would also be hurting my hunny bunn?"

"I know I've had my problems but I am not out to get your boyfriend," he sighed once again, his annoyance then directed at Lady. "The fact is that...never mind. I hope I managed to cancel all the online announcements she made, but if you started hearing rumours, you know where they came from."

"Why don't you stop worrying about me and focus on your show?" the female suggested, smiling. "Oh, and I'd be careful around Pallack today. I think he had that dream again and as cute as it sounds, I don't think you want to be hugged to death."

"Not the one where we got married." Dorian groaned, as if a bad memory was coming back to him.

"I think it was," she responded, still smiling. "You needn't be so hard on him, hun, he was just born that way."

"It's not the gay I don't mind, it's just that the little stalker doesn't know the meaning of the words _I'm not interested in you or any other guy_."

"Well I'd rather have him suddenly appear on the bed than some of the guys who have taken an interest in me. When you're female and you're famous, creeper fans are on a whole new level of low."

"I've had a few psycho fans in my life. Like the woman who tried to shoot me 15 years ago for not returning her calls."

"Fifteen years ago...that was the game show period, wasn't it? Where if a show had prizes, you were most likely hosting it?"

"Exactly and she was the reason I got out of it. Thankfully, the clan helped fudge some reports so she'll never be getting out of jail."

At that moment, a jaunty instrumental began to sound, causing Lady to give a nervous chuckle.

"That's my cellphone," she said, removing it from her pocket and proceeding to press the button. "Excuse me...hello? Of course it's me, silly, I...yes, his little message got through...I already told you, no...you did? Well that's sweet of you but he's still asking...ok, don't do anything too rash, I know how scary your Don can get...oh yes, I'd love to. Saturday night? That's fine...ok, just make sure he knows that no means no. There's better ways for the money to come in than me having my face disfigured. Ok...yes, ti amo. Ciao."

She then ended the call, still looking a little nervous.

"Let me guess, that was Tino, right?" Dorian asked, automatically cringing a little at the very thought of the Montana. Though whilst he was still not hot on the idea of cannibalism, he wasn't actually as creeped-out by Tino as he used to be.

"Yeah," Lady replied, giving a nod. "I just hope he doesn't lay into Prince Jnr. too much, he says he told him not to ask me again."

"Prince Jr is a jerk, but even I don't want to see him get eaten," Dorian stretched a bit while talking.

"Why does everyone make that assumption?" She sighed, but she didn't sound too annoyed. "He promised Don that everyone in their 'family' was off-limits. And he promised me that everyone in this HQ is off-limits too, before you say anything."

"That's a relief. Are you sure you don't want the chance to punch Sydney in the face and get away with it?"

His tone had been slightly teasing but he'd asked the question in good faith. When Lady's response was a simple shake of the head, it was clear that her answer wasn't about to change anytime soon. Shrugging his shoulders with a nonchalant "Eh, it was a worth a shot," Dorian bid farewell and began to walk off. Hopefully he wouldn't see a certain clan member on the way to his office.

As for the blonde's response, it wasn't because she was a coward or because she didn't think she could win. Lady just wasn't a naturally violent person and wouldn't give Sydney the satisfaction of any chance to antagonise her. Though it did feel a bit weird that someone like Sydney would involve herself in something like boxing.

And as for Dorian, so far the coast was clear of any hide or hair of a certain painter.

"_Heh_," he thought, hoping not to jinx it. "_Maybe he's vanished off the face of the earth and I'll never had to see him for the rest of the day_."


End file.
